Clare Market Investments LLC Makes New $749,000 Investment in AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. $AB

Clare Market Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 20,000 shares of the asset manager’s stock, valued at approximately $749,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AB. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 17,664.8% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,640,896 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $140,102,000 after purchasing an additional 3,620,401 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in AllianceBernstein by 79.2% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,412,548 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $54,355,000 after acquiring an additional 624,270 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 51.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 916,574 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $35,114,000 after acquiring an additional 312,878 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth grew its holdings in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1,154.2% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 336,502 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $12,861,000 after purchasing an additional 309,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in shares of AllianceBernstein by 1,243.9% during the fourth quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 218,727 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $8,417,000 after purchasing an additional 202,451 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 19.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore set a $40.00 price target on shares of AllianceBernstein in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of AllianceBernstein from $40.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings lowered AllianceBernstein from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of AllianceBernstein in a report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of AllianceBernstein from $39.50 to $39.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AllianceBernstein has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.90.

AllianceBernstein Stock Performance

Shares of AB opened at $37.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $37.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.51. AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. has a 52-week low of $34.92 and a 52-week high of $44.11.

AllianceBernstein (NYSE:AB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The asset manager reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.04). AllianceBernstein had a net margin of 6.69% and a return on equity of 23.11%. The business had revenue of $871.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.70 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. will post 3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AllianceBernstein Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. AllianceBernstein’s payout ratio is 102.15%.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein is a global investment management firm that offers a broad range of research-driven strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternative investments. The firm provides active and quantitative portfolio management, drawing on in-house research capabilities to serve the needs of institutional clients, private wealth investors and intermediaries. Its product lineup encompasses mutual funds, separately managed accounts and customized investment vehicles designed to meet diverse risk-return objectives.

The firm’s roots date back to 1967 with the founding of Sanford C.